George



(No Model.)

G. 0. ROGERS. SHOULDER BEST FOR BIGYGLES.

No. 578,027. Patented Mar. 2,-1'897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE 0. ROGERS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO STEPHEN E. GREEN WELL, OF SAME PLACE.

SHOULDER-REST FOR BICYCLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,027, dated March 2, 1897. A licati m September 9, 1895. Serial No. 561,921. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE 0. ROGERS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shoulder-Rest Attachments for Bicycles, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in bicycles, and has for its object a means for suitably supporting the shoulders of the rider in order to ease the muscular strain in maintaining the equilibrium.

My invention consists in features of novelty hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure I is a side elevation of a portion of the bicycle, showing my device attached thereto. Fig. II is a front elevation of the device, a part of one side thereof being shown in section. Fig. III is a front view of the device employed for clamping my device to the bicycle-frame. Fig. IV is a cross-section of one of the members of the clamp device, showing the balland-socket joint, said section being taken along the line IV IV of Fig. I. Fig. V is a cross-section taken along the line V V of Fig. II and showing a means for securing the device to the post of the handle-bars when the shoulder-rest is not in-us'e. f

1 is the upper frame-bar of abicycle-frame.

2 are sections of a sleeve hinged at 3 and adapted to be secured to said bar 1 and held by a pivoted thumb-screw bolt and nut 4.

I 5 are ball-and-socket joints, the sockets being placed in the upper portion of the sleevepieces and the balls being on the lower ends of the two arms of the device.

6 are hinged thumb-screw clamps securing the ball attachments to upwardly-extending tubes 7. These tubes 7 are loosely connected by means of a coil-spring 14, attached to the tubes 7 by means of clamps 13.

20 are cushions, against which the shoulders of the rider are adapt-ed to rest. They are supported by spreading carriers 19, carried on rods 18.

17 are coil-springs placed within the tube 16. The rods 18 bear against the springs 17. Sleeves 15 clamp the tubes 7 to tube 16.

21 are slots in tube 7, which permit of the compression of said tubes 7 onto the tele- 55 scoping tubes 16 within them. The lower end of springs 17 may either be attached to a rivet in the tube 16 or rest on a plug or other suitable support.

8 is another pair of sleeves adapted to be secured to the tubes 7.

9 is a cross-piece attached to projections I on the sleeves 8 by means of a pin-and-slot connection 10.

11 is a spring-clamp attached to the crosspiece 9 and adapted to engage the handle-bar post 12 and hold the device when not in-use.

In the use of my improved shoulder-rest, the rider, leaning forward with his shoulders resting upon the supports 20, is provided with a brace, which materially lessens the effort of maintaining equilibrium, and which consequently prevents fatigue. The ball-andsocket joints 5, the pin-and-slot connections 10, the flexible connection 14, and the springs 17 all combine to lessen any jar or jolt to the rider and allow motion in any direction, yet at the same time furnish a firm support to the shoulders. The vertical distance for the supports is regulated by the tubes 16 being raised or lowered in the outer tubes 7 and secured by the clamps 15. The horizontal spread is controlled by the cross-piece -9 and the flexible connection 14.

The clamps 2 may be lined with a chamoisskin or other lining to protect the bar 1 of the bicycle-frame.

I claim as my invention in a new article of manufacture 1. A shoulder-rest attachment for a bicycleframe comprising a clamp adapted to be secured to the upper bar of the frame, the spreading tubes secured to the clamp, the springs located in the tubes, and the spreading carriers having rods adapted to slide in the tubes and supported on the springs, substantially as described.

2. In a shoulder-rest for attachment to bi I cycles, the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of a bicycle, sockets in said clamp, upwardly-extending tubes, balls connected to the lower end of said tubes,

IOO

and adapted to fit in said sockets, yielding shoulder-pieces located in the upper ends of the said tubes and suitable means for relatively adjusting the said tubes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a shoulder-rest for attachment to bicycles, the combination of a clamp, adapted to be secured to the frame of a bicycle, upwardly-extendin g tubes provided with a connection to said clamp whereby the tubes can be moved in any direction, and yielding shoulder-pieces located in the upper ends of said tubes, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a shoulder-rest for bicycles, the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of a bicycle, upwardly-extending tubes provided with ball-and-socket connection to said clamp, should er-pieces carried on rods adapted to fit in the upper ends of said tubes, and springs located in the tubes arranged to control the movement of said shoulder-pieces, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a shoulder-rest for bicycles, the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of a bicycle, upwardly-extending tubes provided with loose connections to said clamp, a flexible connection between said tubes, and shoulder-pieces located at the upper ends of said tubes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a shoulder-rest for bicycles, the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of the bicycle, upwardly-extending tubes provided with loose connections to said clamp, shoulder-pieces located at the upper ends of said tubes, a spring connecting said tubes, and a cross-bar arranged to limit the outward and inward movement of said tubes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a shoulder-rest for bicycles the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of a bicycle, upwardly-extending arms, each provided with a ball-and-socket connection to said clamp, yielding shoulderpieces located at the upper ends of said arms and suitable means for relatively adjusting the said tubes, substantially as shown and described.

8. In a shoulder-rest for bicycles, the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of the bicycle, an upwardly-extending arm provided with ball-and-socket connection to said clamp, a shoulder-piece at the upper end of said arm,-and a spring arranged to control the movement of said shoulderpiece, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. In a shoulder-rest for bicycles, the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of a bicycle, upwardly-extending arms provided at their lower ends with balland-socket connection to said clamp, and members carrying the balls of said connection, said members having hinged connection with said arms, tubes arranged to telescope in the upper ends of said arms, and shoulderpieces fitted to said tubes and springs ar' ranged to control the movement of said shoulder-pieces, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

10. In a shoulder-rest for bicycles, the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of a bicycle, upwardly-extending arms provided with ball-and-socket connection to said clamp, and an adjustable crosspiece connecting said arms, and a spring adjustably secured to said arms, and shoulderpieces located at the upper ends of said arms, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. In a shoulder-rest for bicycles, the combination of a clamp adapted to be secured to the frame of a bicycle, upwardly-extending arms provided with ball-and-socket connection. to said clamp, shoulder-pieces located in the upper ends of said arms, an adjustable cross-piece connecting said arms, and a springclamp on said cross-piece adapted to be thrown into engagement with the frame of the bicycle when the shoulder-rest is not in use; substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my signature this 31st day of August, 1895.-

GEORGE 0. ROGERS.

In presence of GEO. H. KNIGHT, E. S. KNIGHT. 

